We all know that
research is nothing without publishing, and writing an article is the
inevitable grand finale to any good research project. Yet, publishing is
competitive and challenging and getting that acceptance letter is not always as
easy as we might like.
The good news is that
one rejection is not the be-all and end-all of publishing, and by
simply tweaking how you write, you can convince even the most critical editor
to consider your manuscript. So, here is a list of the most important
things that editors look for in a good manuscript.
Technical aspects
First of all, editors
check a couple of vital technical aspects relating to your manuscript. If these
are not correct, you will have a hard time convincing an editor to publish your
article. A good tip to remember is that the purpose of a research article is to
report new information to the scientific community.
- Relevance
Choosing the right
journal for the scope of your research is critical. Journals can be so specific
that some of your work will be accepted to one journal, while another part of
the same project will be more suited to another journal. This is why journals
have a very clear description of their scope, and why you should study these
intensely before you go through the effort of submitting your work.
Another useful tip is
to, in addition to reading the journal focus, browse through the previous year
or two’s publications to get an idea of what the editors like to publish.
- Format
This should go
without saying, but unfortunately, it is something a lot of writers get wrong.
No matter how many articles you have published, spending some extra time on
formatting your writing to fit the journal specs is something that makes a huge
difference. An article that is not formatted correctly has a great chance of
being rejected.
- Novelty
Once an editor has
checked for relevance and format, the next thing they will make sure of is that
the research that has been submitted is novel. This is not only to prevent
plagiarism but also to make sure that there is no unnecessary duplication.
Novel research is
what attracts readers, and readers can influence impact factors, which in turn
influences submissions and income for the journal.
Aesthetics
Once the basics have
been covered and an editor has made sure that the work is valid, unique and
suited to the journal, the next big step is to check the more “aesthetic”
qualities of the article.
- Language use
Any well-written
article will have a professional tone, with short sentences that are direct to
the point. The use of words should suit the journal style and field of
research, without the use of too many acronyms or too much jargon.
- Spelling & Grammar
Even though spelling
checkers and proof-readers play a very active role in publications these days,
editors also have to pay attention to these when reviewing a manuscript.
Although a few typos may be a little bit frustrating to an editor, many of them
that are repeated throughout the manuscript may send a message about the person
doing the writing.
If a researcher does
not have the pride in his or her work to make sure the spelling and grammar are
correct, the chances are that the quality of their work may also have suffered,
and it may leave an editor wondering if publishing the work is worthwhile. At
best, the work will be sent back with loads of revisions, which is never a fun
thing to do.
- Brevity & Clarity
Most journals have
word limits for research articles, thereby limiting the writer to only the
necessary information. The reason for this is to make sure the message gets
across without having to publish a complete review article every time. In this
way, journals can optimize the amount of research they publish, without
compromising too much on content.
Even though research
articles should be brief, they should not fall short on clarity. This is where
proper word use comes in as discussed earlier, and it may be necessary to
wordsmith your work to optimize the content and information ratio. In layman’s
terms – better make it short and sweet.
Final words
If you are struggling
with making your article aesthetic, we can help you. We are an experienced team
who know what editors might be looking for in your manuscript.
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2. Common Mistakes Non-Native English Speakers Make – Part 1: Spelling and punctuation
3. The 7 common mistakes first time publishers make
5. What would a PhD graduate advise a new PhD student?
6. How to structure a dissertation?
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8.
By Thesis Doctor
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